Digital cameras and digital printers are available from the Eastman Kodak Company and many other suppliers. Current digital cameras, such as the Kodak DC280 camera, capture images with a single-chip color CCD image sensor, process the images to provide “finished” RGB images, compress the images using JPEG compression, and store the images on a removable memory card. The images can be reviewed on a LCD image display on the back of the camera, and unwanted images can be deleted.
The memory card can then be placed in a desktop digital color printer, such as the Kodak Personal Picture Maker PM100. This printer includes memory card slots for the well-known Compact Flash and Smart Media Flash EPROM memory cards. The card is removed from the camera and placed in the printer. The printer includes a monochrome LCD status display and several buttons that serve as the user interface. These buttons enable the user to make one or more copies of all of the images on the memory card and to select various printer features. The prints are made using a color ink jet head which marks specially designed photo ink jet paper.
However, for some especially memorable pictures, the user may want to obtain enlargements, photo mugs, or other types of photo products. These desired photo products might be larger than can be provided by their desktop printer, could use another type of output media (e.g. silver halide photographic paper) or could be some type of personalized product (e.g. a t-shirt or coffee mug having a selected picture). In this case, the user needs to bring their digital images to a retail outlet providing these services, or transfer their images to a computer connected to the Internet, in order to order their desired photo products, using for example the method described in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/576,288.
In addition, the user might want to store favorite images in digital format for viewing by others, or to allow for future reprinting. Unfortunately, the cost of the Flash EPROM memory cards used in many digital cameras makes this an unattractive storage option. In the prior art, after printing in a device such as the PM100 printer described earlier, favorite images are transferred from the camera to a separate storage device on the user's computer (e.g. a computer hard drive) and the memory card is erased and re-used. Transferring images to a computer, after printing the images on a separate, stand-along printer, requires a second, time-consuming step.
In the prior art, therefore, the user must perform separate, lengthy operations in order to obtain various types of prints and other photo products from the group of digital images taken with their digital camera, or in order to obtain both prints and a separate digital file for future use. What is needed is a printer having a simple, graphical user interface that enables the user to quickly and easily select a set of the images to be print locally, as well as one or more images to be printed on a separate, remote printer offering capabilities not available on the local printer, and to easily store the digital image files for future use.